Monetisation of content in a digitised market

Monetisation of content in a digitised market

MUMBAI: With broadcasters upping investments on content and marketing, monetisation from multiple streams becomes crucial in a digitised market.

Multi Screen Media President Ad Sales Rohit Gupta feels the key in a digital market will be to create customised content that suits the need of a specific demographic and market.

The addition of LC1 markets to TAM panel will increase their weightage vis-a-vis the four metros. It will also force broadcasters to rethink their content strategy towards these markets.

“Digitisation is key challenge for broadcasters. Monetisation of content is key. With addition of LC1 markets, their weightage has gone up. Creating different content for different type of audiences will be the key,” Gupta said during a panel discussion on ‘Revisiting Content in Digitised Space and Impact of Ratings in the Changed Scenario’.

Gupta said television as a medium has seen phenomenal growth to become the biggest medium but it remains under-indexed when it comes to ad spends.

“We are adding 15 million consumers every year but we are still under-indexed vis-a-vis advertising revenue growth. Broadcasters are not getting the benefits of additional eyeballs,” he added.

Gupta said it’s high time that the industry works together to create a new television measurement system. A new system is in the interest of both broadcasters as well as media gencies.

Disney UTV Media Networks CEO MK Anand said the ad revenue led business is here to stay. It will co-exist with subscription driven business model.

“The advertising revenue led model is here to stay. Ratings are not anti-thetical to the broadcast business. Digital Addressable System (DAS) will lead to two kind of broadcasters - one who are subscription led and the ones who are advertising revenue led,” he said.

According to Anand, broadcasters irrespective of the genre have to work hard in a digitised market. The packages that MSOs design will also be of paramount importance.

Time spent in digital homes has increased due to bucketing of content genre-wise, he added.

IndiaCast Group COO Gaurav Gandhi said digitisation will change three things: it will change economics, choice of services and accountability and measurement.

“The cost of content has gone up considerably, it‘s on par with international markets. But the revenue growth is not sufficient,” Gandhi said.

Broadcasters will also have to look at other revenue models apart from advertising and subscription to monetise their content.

Natpe President and CEO Rod H Perta said the problem of inadequate measurement system and fragmentation of market is not unique to India. US too has gone through the same path.

Digitisation, he said, will lead to emergence of new business models and opportunities. The question is whether broadcasters are ready for this change, he asked.

He said ratings are an equally “contentious” issue in US but the market over there has matured and advertisers now don’t just look at ratings while making advertising decision.

“In fragmented markets, advertisers don‘t just look at ratings. They also look at the quality of content,” Perta contended.

TAM India CEO LV Krishnan said the issue of reliability of data comes only when the ratings starts falling. Broadcasters, he said, don’t complain when the numbers are in their favour.

He said viewership measurement in multiple-screen era will go from platform-centric to becoming platform-agnostic.

“It doesn’t matter which platform the content is consumed. Parameters will change as content consumption will happen on different platforms,” Krishnan said.

Fremantle Asia MD Paul O Hanlon said, “We have to rethink the way we produce content which made us look at different formats in different ways and segment it to make it flexible for broadcasters.

“The cost of content is going up, so we have to rethink the business model. We are looking at different ways to monetise content like AFP and not just remain dependent on broadcast fee.”

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